None of those trades occurred on July 30 or 31, but you can’t argue that the Cubs didn’t have an incredibly busy and productive trade season. More on that, and on the quiet Trade Deadline …

Cubs GM Jed Hoyer addressed the media shortly after the deadline passed without any action. “The last couple of days we had a lot of irons in the fire but never got that close,” Hoyer said, per ESPN. “We thought we had a high but not unreasonably high price on some of the guys, but a lot of the guys we were being asked about we control going forward. In some ways it makes our winter potentially easier.” The implication there being that some of the guys discussed – Nate Schierholtz, David DeJesus, James Russell, among them – would have had to be replaced over the Winter if they’d been traded. I tend to think that’s something of a throwaway line, rather than a real indication of the Cubs’ plans for the offseason. What I mean is, I don’t think the Cubs front office is deciding, on August 1, 2013, that those players will unequivocally be with the club as starters in April 2014. Opportunities to improve the organization occur in the offseason, as well, I think this front office will always explore them. For now, on paper, Schierholtz is the Cubs’ right fielder going into 2014, DeJesus is the Cubs’ center fielder going into 2014, and James Russell is a key setup man and lefty reliever going into 2014. But “on paper” in August doesn’t always tell you much about reality in April.

… that said, I am not disappointed that the Cubs will go into the offseason with the option of retaining each of those players for 2014. None is particularly expensive, especially relative to their ability and role, and each can provide clear value to the Cubs in 2014, regardless of how “competitive” the Cubs seek to be. Schierholtz can remain a productive lefty half of a platoon in right field. DeJesus can cover center, or be a great fourth outfielder. Russell can be Russell, even if the Cubs add in the bullpen.

It sounds like talks on Dioner Navarro really centered on the Cardinals, which suggests (1) the Cubs weren’t getting (or weren’t soliciting?) many hits on him before Yadier Molina’s injury yesterday; and (2) other teams weren’t jumping on him as a great back-up catcher. Upgrading your back-up catcher is not, to be sure, an earth-shaking move. But I’m surprised that no contenders looked at their back-up situation and thought, “Man, if Starting Catcher X gets hurt, we’re in serious trouble.” Heck, there are teams out there for whom I would think Navarro would be a starting catcher upgrade. Perhaps that’s the range in which the Cubs were valuing him, though, and perhaps that’s why there wasn’t much traction on putting a deal together. An August trade involving Navarro is conceivable, but I wouldn’t be surprised to learn that the Cubs – given the extreme lack of upper level catching depth in their system – really want to re-sign Navarro after the season.

That Kevin Gregg is still with the team is a surprise, and is probably indicative of his value (and the hit it took over the last few weeks), as well as the quickly flooded relief market that emerged in the final week of July. He can still be traded in August, as complementary players like Gregg are usually not claimed in the trade waiver process (more on that later).

Some of the Cubs players who weren’t dealt yesterday sound happy to be able to stay with the Cubs, including DeJesus, Navarro, and Carlos Villanueva in this Cubs.com piece.

Hoyer said that, although his name did come up, the Cubs were never close to trading Jeff Samardzija (per Cubs.com). The way Hoyer framed it, though, was that if you’re an obvious seller, teams are going to ask about all of your players. That’s just the way it is.

One ugly upside of yesterday’s relative inactivity? With no teams tearing their team apart, aside from two that were likely to far outpace the Cubs in losses anyway (Astros, White Sox), there probably aren’t any surprise entrants in the “stay in the bottom ten” contest. Like I said, it’s an ugly upside, but if the Cubs aren’t going to make the playoffs this year, I’d rather just see them finish in the bottom 10 teams in the league – that locks them in to a “protected” first round pick next year, which means they could theoretically pursue top free agents (the ones with qualifying offers) without risking losing a first round draft pick in the process. I’m not saying the Cubs will pursue top free agents this offseason. But it’s good to have options. I’m also not saying I’m rooting for Cubs losses. I’m simply saying that a small silver lining of yesterday’s relative inactivity league-wise is that we probably won’t now see three or four new teams taking huge nosedives in August and September.

If you missed it, Kim DeJesus – that would be David DeJesus’s better half – was a treat to follow as the Trade Deadline clock ticked down. You can see her activities retroactively in her Twitter time line. For example, together with other Cubs wives some 42 minutes before the deadline (yes, her Vines are more enjoyable than mine):

One more FO move that was rumored to be happening today/tomorrow was officially signing Eloy Jiminez; is there any news on that front (or the other international prospects who were turning 16 years old in August I believe)

Alex

Bummed that the Yankees signed Leonardo Molina today. I was hoping that since the Cubs are blowing past their international budget, they would have signed Molina as well.

Sign ALL the international prospects!

nilodnayr

Brett, I think this aspect of the trade deadline deserves its own post (and in depth analysis/research). The most interesting implication of the lack of activity is that the cubs did not trade for any more intl slot money and are going to definitely exceed the 15% overage threshold which means they’ll be capped at max of 250k per signee next year. Sooo, as others have succinctly stated they should most definitely be in SIGN ALL THE INTL PLAYERS mode (savings on Sori can bring in quite a few guys). Can you give us an update as to who from the top lists are still unsigned (both officially/unofficially) as well as who is going to become eligible to be signed in the near future?

TWC

And cue dozens more “Kim DeJesus is the hottest thing EVAH” (objectifying) comments.

TheDondino

[img]http://i.imgbox.com/abilw2aI.gif[/img]

Coop

Well, I must admit that in Brett’s Enhanced Box Score for last night’s game I had a little smile to myself when he concluded: “Anthony Rizzo hit a bomb, Starlin Castro hit a bomb, and David DeJesus stayed hot.”

My addendum: “…and David DeJesus stayed hot. [And so did his wife].”

EvenBetterNewsV2.0

If David DeJesus is getting less than $10 million (he is), then Kim is worth half of that, and moreso on a down year. All joking aside that family does as much as any Cubs family out there. Wood and Dempster were always good, but those two are right up there.

Blublud

Kim Dejesus is very nice looking woman, but in all honesty, she is no where near hot. She has absolutely no backside. Who wants a woman laying beside them who has no but.

I believe some guys get so fixated on udders that they are oblivious to a lady’s face, legs, or tiny waist, not that I objectify women.

Mrs. Dejesus, like Dana Patrick, is okay but hardly hot.

A cursory internet search is all it should take to put that notion to rest.

Chris

Dana Patrick lived in Mesa and she is barely o.k. The Mercedes she drove in town was hot.

Jono

I’m turned off by women who drive

TWC

Dave? Dave Sappelt, is that you?

Jono

HAHAHA, good call

Blublud

An honest assessment of Kim is she’s cute, but hardly beautiful, her torso/leg ratio is horrible, she has a nice set up top, but I actually prefer a smaller full B or light C cup, her body is straight up and down, she has no curves front to back or side to side. She is like the majority of fairly decent or nice looking women in world who take care of themselves. Nothing more and nothing less.

Chris

Blublub. Do you own an used car lot?

ssckelley

Blublud seeing your comments on Kim DeJesus makes me wonder what you are tapping on a nightly basis. I mean if she is only “meh, ok” to you then you must be getting some really hot women.

I think Kim is hot, but then again I found myself checking out Rizzo’s mom last night so perhaps my taste has “aged” a bit.

Blublud

Nah. My wife is very good looking, and “hot” to me, but that’s only because she my wife. If she wasn’t my wife, based solely of looks, I wouldn’t say she’s hot and she looks better then Kim. Choosing between my wife and Dejesus’ wife based only off looks, I would take my wife hands down and its not even remotely close.

ssckelley

Post pics please and let us judge. 😀

Blublud

Nah. I had her on my avatar at one point. But the whole point is that Kim is nice looking, but the way some people talk about her here, ypu would think she was flawless. Cute, yes. Hot, not close.

Jed Jam Band

I’m going to interpret this vine as these being wives of players who were possibly going to be traded. They were popping the champagne as a dual celebration because either A) They were memorializing their time spent in the great city of Chicago (I love Chicago) OR B) They were celebrating getting to stay in the city they love. I like this interpretation, because it means that more people love Chicago, which is always a good thing.

gocatsgo2003

It’s pretty well-established that Kim DeJesus (a native of Wheeling I think) was pretty happy when her husband signed with the Cubs. Would imagine that she is happy to be able to stick around for a bit longer.

ssckelley

Somewhere along the tweets I read that Travis Wood sent the wives 4 bottles of wine.

My friend was Kim DeJesus’ roommate at Michigan State. She’s a big partier, so I can only imagine what Kim was like.

TonyP

I prefer Mrs. Schierholtz!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

johnny chess Aka 2much2say

The Cubs have only 49 mil committed in 2014 Ejax accounts for 13 mil and is highest by 7 mil

gocatsgo2003

OK?

cubsin

They also have around $14 million commited to their share of Soriano’s 2014 compensation.

Featherstone

Your forgetting that were on the hook for 13 million of Soriano’s contract

Kyle

I believe he is including that, but that total does not include arbitration-qualified players, for whom salaries are not technically committed.

johnny chess Aka 2much2say

Pitcher payroll will be way above position players. In fact a David Price would make more than the 8 other positions combined

Bigg J

I agree with the bottom half…..what is the point of having a decent record if you are not going to the playoffs? “Ahhh we did so much better then last year, lets pat ourselves on the back, but we can’t get a big free agent because we will lose our first round draft pick.”

Doesn’t matter what your record is if you don’t make the playoffs—so why not stay within the top 10 picks to be safe and also get a good player in the draft?

Kyle

1) It means that the players you have on the team, many of whom will presumably be around the next year, had good results.

2) It can improve ticket sales and thus long-term revenue.

3) It may make you more attractive to potential free agents.

willis

Ding, ding, ding. Winning is a good thing. Getting better is a good thing. Nice performances are a good thing.

http://www.bleachernation.com Brett

All of these are correct to a degree, but the degrees vary depending on a large number of things.

For this Cubs organization, for example, I don’t think winning a few more games in August and September is going to have a dramatic impact on ticket sales this, or next year. Having a winning record, however, would have an impact. But we’re not there yet.

Jono

good point. Having a protected first round draft pick could be the difference of a couple games. I don’t think a couple extra wins will improve the team enough going into 2014 to be worth losing that protected pick, IF they wanted to sign a free agent that was given a qualified offer

Kyle

I absolutely think a late push could make a difference in ticket sales next season. The casual fans are still locked deeply into the “we’re several years away, no hope for now” thinking. 77 wins instead of 72 could easily give the team just enough buzz to sell some tickets next year.

gocatsgo2003

Pretty sure the truly casual fans are still locked deeply into either the “let’s put on our jerseys and drink beer while hanging out in the sun at Wrigley” mode or the “let’s take the kids to an afternoon ballgame” mode. Let’s face it: a decent proportion of Cubs fans at Wrigley only tangentially care about the game on the field.

Kyle

And yet, the worse the team gets, the more attendance drops.

Jono

not all people who attend are casual fans.

http://www.bleachernation.com Brett

You know what sells more tickets? Having a couple big name free agents to market.

I agree with number 1 especially, and I think it’s sometimes overlooked.

And if I could add one more thing to that, I’d say I don’t really want any of the free agents who are good enough to receive a qualifying offer. Ellsbury’s a 30-year-old injury-prone speedster who’s power’s declined, and Choo is going to be 32 next year and can’t hit lefties.

The only guy who could command a qualifying offer who we may want to pursue is Brian McCann. But even with him, (A) he may not even get a qualifying offer with Gattis ready to take over (B) how many years and how much money are we going to want to give a soon-to-be 30-year-old catcher with a lot of miles and DL stints to his name.

I’d much rather the Cubs keep playing semi-respectable ball the rest of the way.

Funn Dave

For me, it’s because I get more enjoyment out of seeing the Cubs win more games–regardless of whether those games have any impact on draft selection or the postseason–than I do out of being reassured that the Cubs will either sign or be otherwise compensated for next year’s draft pick. If you’re only interested in fielding a team that will win a World Series, you’re rooting for the wrong team. I feel that baseball is best enjoyed on a game-to-game basis, and that that is especially true of Cubs games.

johnny chess Aka 2much2say

Hardly a mention of PED use by active pitchers Gio & Colon come to mind

davidalanu

I could be wrong, but I thought I read that while Gio did do business with Biogenesis, his purchases were not PED-related.

johnny chess Aka 2much2say

But Gio was mentioned (the old where there’s smoke there’s fire)

Funn Dave

Yeah, everything I’ve read up to this point has said that Gio’s name was mentioned but was cleared by Biogenesis employees and others.

gocatsgo2003

Couple of questions: (i) What’s the sum total of the PTBNLs in all our various trades and when will we hear who those players are? and (ii) If DeJesus, Schierholtz, or another player with one year remaining on their deal is traded before the 2014 season, could the team to which they are traded be in line for any kind of draft pick or other compensation (recognizing that neither of these players are even close to likely to receive qualifying offers)?

X the Cubs Fan

I want to say it’s about 7.

gocatsgo2003

That’s a fair amount of talent (of varying levels) that will be coming in later this season.

nkniacc13

I believe you are correct its 7. most will be cash tho I think. From the date of the trade I believe the club has 6 months to make their choice.

Mark

Kim Tweeted me one night randomly. It was probably the highlight of my twitter usage.

Cleanup Poster

She has favorited 3 of my tweets… So nyahhh!

Jono

she “favorited” a picture of my spatula back in january

Jono

that’s not an innuendo

Bilbo161

I for one did not take it that way but then I like to cook. Did consider it though.

Bilbo161

I think the Cubs are a 0.500 team next year in terms of expectation. They were over that in July, so that is not a stretch. I expect them to sniff the wildcard next year. Who knows, if we get a few guys breaking out, we might even have an outside shot at contention. If we don’t contend in 2015 I’ll be really disappointed. By then some of our top prospect will start contributing and starting pitching will be just fine. I know the best of our prospects are farther away but hey, even with all the anxiety over pitching everyone should just stop and realize that starting pitching is and has been the strength of the MLB team the past couple years.

Carew

I have a feeling DeJesus will be a cub for longer than one more year. Just a hunch

CubsFaninMS

Maybe someone has discussed this above but I see a possible plan unfolding.

Step 1: Unload the “heavy weight” salary-wise in 2013 season, freeing up the budget further.
Step 2: If the Cubs’ 2013 ecord is such that we’re in protected draft pick status.. BOOM… makes some heavy free agent investments in the offseason.
Step 3: Make a trade or two in the off season to further stock minor leagues (if good opportunity arises).
Step 4: Choose first draft pick wisely (of course) .
Step 5: Use loaded farm system in 2014 to make a major splash with a young, controllable pitcher.

Competing with the Cards and Pirates next season may be difficult, but I see the possibility of a strong team developing next year if the cards fall in our favor and some key minor leaguers develop as hoped. Your thoughts?

Jono

I wonder what it would take to land Sale. I mean, it would probably be too much, but still, one can dream, right?

Mr. B. Patient

The biggest problem with your scenario is Step 5. If we traded for Stanton and Sale, we would no longer have a farm system.

Stanton talks would START with Baez, and wouldn’t end there.
Sale…well who knows what the Sox like, but he won’t be cheap.

CubsFaninMS

Well, that’s why they may be considering “overstocking” the farm a little. That’s admittedly difficult to balance when you plan to contend with those MLB players your trading away to restock.

If you haven’t noticed, there seems to be the makings of a rather significant “market shift” in the value of prospects as a result of the new drafting rules. Look at the trade deadline and what prospects were dealt. I’m sure that is why Theo said “Thanks but not thanks” at the trade deadline.

CubsFaninMS

I want Sale… but it pains me to even think which prospects it would cost for he or Stanton. Youch. It would hurt.

Jono

Exactly. Baez, Soler/Almora, and another top 10?

X the Cubs Fan

I don’t think that Baez, Almora, Vogelbach and Pierce Johnson would even get it done… So no!

MichiganGoat

That’s a nice haul but the problem is the Cubs only have Baez at AA or above that are top prospects and his K rate is concerning to other teams. Until our farm gets AA+ rich it will be more difficult to make major trades.

gocatsgo2003

While his K-rate is probably concerning, his HR-rate is probably just a little bit attractive. THE KID IS 20 YEARS OLD AT AA!!!

frank hutch

get real. That isn’t ever going to happen.

ssckelley

Honestly I think the White Sox would be smart to unload Sale. The Sox need to gut the team and rebuild and a pitcher like Sale is an unnecessary luxary to have when you are rebuilding.

Walter Sobchak

Don’t stress too much ….. We will def. finish in the bottom ten…… Just dropped 3/4 at home to the brew crew….. We are well on are way to easily finishing in bottom 10 !!!

Mr. Cubster

Hmmmmm…

Testing 1 2 3 4 5

DarthHater

Roger. 10-4.

DarthHater

There are currently 8 teams with worse records than the Cubs, 3 teams with records 1 game better and 1 team with a record 1.5 games better. So, bottom 10 is a horse race. 😛

CubsFaninMS

I can see the Mets, Angels, Brewers and Twins possibly hitting a hot streak. The Giants are just miserable. Posey’s the lone ranger in that lineup.

On The Farm

Mets definitley have that possibility with Wheeler and Harvey as guys who can shut down other teams bats, and everyone knows the Angels have a loaded lineup. The only thing I really have a hard time seeing getting on a hot streak is the Twins, that rotation is pretty ugly

Vizcaino is above maples even if it he hasn’t played this year. other 4 look good though.

cerambam

Completely forgot about Vizcaino. I agree.

http://www.shadowsofwrigley.com Tommy (T C)

I’d replace Hendricks with Vizcaino and Maples with Blackburn. Blackburn’s stuf has picked up and he looks like he could be special, and Vizcaino still has te upside of a shut-down closer. Maples’ command issues are very worrisome, and Hendricks just doesn’t have the stuff to be anything more than a serviceable 5th starter. It’s really tough to make it as a 88-89 righty without a plus-plus secondary, which he does not have

Yeah, his cutter and change might not be plus pitches, but they are pretty decent. He locates them all pretty well, changes speed, and keeps the ball low in the zone most of the time. He doesn’t have electric stuff by any means, but I think it will play well in Wrigley, if/when he makes it. Also, he was topping out at 93-94 in Daytona last year at the games I went to, not sure what his velocity is like this year.

CubsFaninMS

I’d slot Ivan Pineyro behind Hendricks, but we haven’t seen enough of him yet to know. Sadly, Maples’ upside would be in the top two in that list (IMO) but the chances of him realizing that upside have diminished.

cerambam

Not sure about Pineyro. I just don’t know enough about him to slot him in there with any confidence. Agree on Maples.

King Jeff

He has looked really good since his demotion. Seems to have figured some things out with his command issues. His curve is pretty wicked, if he gets his delivery cleaned up an more consistent, look out.

Corey Black is making his Daytona debut tonight, starting against Ft. Myers, if it doesn’t get rained out.

http://Bleachernation Lou Brock

Not a single lefty in that group. Zastryzny at Boise and Sam Wilson showing some promise but we need to trade for or draft some better LH pitching in the near future.

ssckelley

I think the only thing that might keep him in AA is that Tennessee has a good shot at making the playoffs.

I think Justin Bour is another that could use a AAA call up, he hit is 15th home run today. His batting average is down but his SO rate (that everyone loves to talk about) is only 17%. It is unfortunate that the only position he plays is first base.

nkniacc13

well Iowa is in the running for playoffs as well

ssckelley

They need to get hot now for that to happen. They are now 10 games under .500 and 4 games behind Omaha with Memphis in between.

cerambam

Man, for how busy its been recently, it really is a ghost town around here. Someone help me slack off at work!
I’m trying to spur conversation. Die Hard is always right! Bryan Lahair just didn’t get the opportunities to play, Thedstein want to make the cubs lose so Rickets can move the the team to Miami, Ohio

nkniacc13

This offseason could be interesting in the fact that basically the cubs have almost their entire roster locked up. I think there will be changes they will need to open so 40 man spots up so there will be some movement.

We also have to consider offseason trades. I wouldn’t be surprised to see the Cubs clear some of the 40 man roster in the offseason.

nkniacc13

plus if the Cubs decide to Rule 5 anyone again they have to leave a spot for that.

ssckelley

Going forward I cannot see the Cubs being very active in the Rule 5 draft. These 40 man roster spots are going to be gold and tough to justify using on a fringy prospect let alone stashing them on the active roster.

Kyle

I really hope we don’t do that. It’s been a waste the last two years and we have better things to do with the roster spots.

AB

I only see two must-protect for the Cubs this year; Alcantra and Rosscup, maybe Rhee depending on scouting reports on him down the stretch, probably Ja Hoon Ha if you take Sappelt and Szczur off the 40-man.

nkniacc13

true but the players that are on 60 day have to get put on there as well

Cubfan Budman

I want McCann damn it

Gcheezpuff

Wheaton actually. She went to high school with my wife, though that didn’t know each other and she was 2 years behind my wife. The DeJesus family bought a house in Wheaton right before he signed with the Cubs and I believe plan to stay their regardless of whether he ever plays for another team again. I am hoping to run into him at a grocery store so I can give him a high-5 one day.

Beautiful BN Apparel

BN on Video

Post Categories

Site Archives

Get In Touch

Search

Disclaimer

In addition to news, Bleacher Nation publishes both rumor and opinion, as well as information reported by other sources. Information on Bleacher Nation may contain errors or inaccuracies, though we try to avoid them. Links to content and the quotation of material from other news sources are not the responsibility of Bleacher Nation. Photos used are the property of Bleacher Nation, are used with permission, are fair use, or are believed to be in the public domain. Legitimate requests to remove copyrighted photos not in the public domain will be honored promptly. Comments by third parties are neither sponsored or endorsed by Bleacher Nation.

Bleacher Nation Privacy Policy and Terms of Use. Bleacher Nation is a private media site, and it is not affiliated in any way with Major League Baseball or the Chicago Cubs. Neither MLB nor the Chicago Cubs have endorsed, supported, directed, or participated in the creation of the content at this site, or in the creation of the site itself. It's just a media site that happens to cover the Chicago Cubs.

Bleacher Nation is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.